'I don't know what I was thinking': Hugh Hefner says he 'missed a bullet' when he was ditched by fiancée Crystal Harris

Blessing in disguise: Hugh Hefner, pictured with Crystal Harris last yea,.  told Entertainment Tonight that he 'missed a bullet' when he was ditchedHe was left broken hearted when he was ditched five days before his wedding by fiancée Crystal Harris.

But now, Hugh Hefner says he is counting his blessings that he didn't tie the knot with the 25-year-old model. 

'Frankly, I don't know what I was thinking about,' the Playboy mogul told Entertainment Tonight.  'I think my natural state is single. 

'I've tried marriage twice, not successfully. These were not the happiest times of my life.'

However, the 85-year-old businessman said he was confused when a seemingly lovelorn Harris called off the nuptials which were to take place at his mansion in the Holby Hills area of Los Angeles. 

'Birthday cards were filled with messages of forever,' he told the entertainment show.

'"You're the man of my dreams, I'll love you for the rest of my life." There was no clue. I didn't see any of this coming.

'If you're having reservations about the person you've been with for two-and-a-half years, the logical thing is to sit down and talk about it,' he added.

Hefner's abandoned wedding is the subject of a Lifetime documentary Hef's Runaway Bride, which shows some of Harris's growing doubts about the nuptials. 

Shoulder to cry on: Hefner confides in former 'Number One girlfriend' Holly Madison on tonight's Lifetime documentary Runaway Bride

Comfort: Kendra Wilkinson and Holly reached out to their former boyfriend on the show

Footage shows him confiding in former girlfriends Holy Madison and Kendra Wilkinson.

Hefner now says he sees the situation more clearly and recalls that 'things started to get sour' between himself and Harris once lawyers started getting involved in a prenuptial agreement. 

The mogul also reveals that the mansion's security tapes show that Harris ensured she got the two cars he gifted to her off the property before she fled. 

During their time together, Hefner gave her a Bentley and another luxury vehicle.

Not all white: Crystal Harris tries on her wedding dress in a new documentary Hef's Runaway Bride which will lift the lid on why she jilted the Playboy mogul just days before their wedding

Fitting session: Decked out in all her regalia, Crystal was joined by her bridesmaids and friends

Following the split, Harris was romantically linked to Jordan McGraw, the son of TV personality Dr Phil, something which she has denied.

'I think in retrospect, there's something more to this than we all know that will come to light in time,' Hefner said. 'If Dr. Phil's son is involved, that's certainly only part of the picture.'

Hefner maintains that he and Harris had a 'very happy' relationship and that he only really considered marriage in order to give her 'continuity.'

Harris, he said, was 'fascinated' by the Playboy lifestyle and created the illusion that she was 'over the moon happy.'

Getting ready: Crystal is tended to as she has her veil attached

No thanks: The documentary shows how the blonde beauty was struggling to come to terms with her impending marriage

Moving on: Hugh Hefner has a new girlfriend in Harris's friend Anna Sophia Berglund

Hefner is now said to have moved twins Kristina and Karissa Shannon back into the Playboy mansion, and has also continued his romance with Harris's friend Anna Sophia Berglund.

He also admitted to being 'with' Berglund during his relationship with Harris. 

'The immorality of infidelity is the line,' he explained. 'My life is an open book with illustrations, no mysteries, and widely published.' 

Tonight's documentary will give more clues as to why Harris, herself a Playboy pin up, got cold feet.

She is seen trying on her wedding dress, complete with a flowing veil and joined by her would-be bridesmaids.

But viewers will see the blonde struggling to throw herself fully into the wedding planning.

She says: 'I never as a little kid imagined what my wedding would be like one day but I kind of knew that I wasn’t supposed to be feeling like this.'

She adds: 'I saw myself gradually checking out.'

Crystal's maid of honour and best friend Anna Sophia Berglund also reveals how the would-be bride was having second thoughts a couple of weeks before cancelling the wedding last month.

Anna, who is still living at the Playboy Mansion, said: 'Two weeks before the wedding Crystal started to feel a little overwhelmed by the wedding plans.'

Hef’s Runaway Bride airs tonight at 10pm on U.S. network Lifetime.